Tens of thousands of people are mourning across this country. They cry for a man who died too young. But these mourners will not gather in a stadium or wear red, white, and blue. Their grief will be more silent – deeply buried in their hearts.
As the headlines continue to decry the tragic loss of Charlie Kirk, less attention has been given to Demartravion "Trey" Reed, who was found hanging from a tree at Delta State University on Sept. 15. “The Bolivar County Coroner has ruled the death of the Black man from Grenada to be suicide.” (Clarion Ledger 17 Sept. 2025)
Given the volatile week we’ve gone through, with leaders and social media pouring gasoline on the fire, I’m having a hard time believing this is a suicide. I could be wrong. But you must admit, Mississippi, you do have a track record.
Maybe I just can’t get past what this image evokes.
It’s significant to note that after a white guy shot Charlie Kirk, some historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) suspended classes or activities or went into lockdown because they began receiving threats. According to AFR News, the list continues to grow.
Yes, Delta State is a public university, but when HBCU’s are being threatened, you surely see the timing of this death as problematic. And how do you speak to it? As President of DSU Dan Ennis said in his press conference, “While the preliminary report of the Bolivar County Coroner's office indicates no evidence of foul play, we recognize that this is not just about facts. It's about emotions, and it's about feelings. [As a white man] I recognize that I am not adequate to speak to the imagery that this scene raises. I acknowledge my weakness there." (Clarion Ledger 17 Sept. 2025)
And so do I. Even though I think I should, I feel entirely inadequate to speak to this.
But I have Black friends who can. As one said, “This same thing happened to my cousin 2 weeks after he moved to Mississippi. People think the past is a long time ago, but it is right now.” Her cousin James Cooper “relocated to Mississippi from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with his girlfriend on April 28 to seek a better life. Family members received a call from Greenville officials on May 10 revealing that Cooper was discovered hanging from a tree.” (Onsite 26 May 2023) This was in 2023. This, too, was ruled a suicide. How do you go from seeking a better life to suicide? His family is still seeking answers.
“I think both were murders,” my friend continued. “And the hanging was a way to ‘twist the knife’ in a special way.” If you are recoiling at such a statement, take some time to ask yourself why. Injustices toward Black people go back to even before the founding of this country. This feels all too familiar to her. Can you understand how this death would evoke something deeper?
On the Delta State University's official Facebook page, anger and accusations are flying furiously. Still, some commenters on the right responded that they [the family] are turning his death into “fuel for a hate crime.” (International Business Times 18 Sept. 2025)
Why, yes, we wouldn’t want to use someone’s death as a means to promote more division in this country. We wouldn’t want to make a bunch of accusations after a tragic death without first getting our facts.
Trey Reed’s family wants the facts. They, too, are having a hard time believing this was a suicide. They have hired a civil rights attorney and are demanding an independent autopsy. And I don’t blame them. Again, Mississippi, you’ve still got a reputation.
The problem is that we don’t know yet what is true. We know how we feel, but we need the facts.
What I do know is that mourning for Trey Reed will be happening quietly across the country, not in a stadium, not dressed in red, white, and blue. And they will wear the color of mourning, which is black.
And just a shout-out to Lottie Dottie’s Ice Cream Truck in Trey’s hometown, who hosted a heartfelt fundraiser for the family. Let’s remember that goodness still exists; let’s emulate it.
“But let justice run down like water,
And righteousness like a mighty stream.” Amos 5:24
I didn’t know anything about this. Thank you for calling my attention to these horrible, almost unspeakable events. Except we do need to speak about them. And we do need to know more.